India to Prioritize Maritime Security at IORA Amid Gulf Conflict Fallout

India will prioritize maritime safety and security during its chairmanship of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), as regional tensions escalate due to the war in West Asia, IORA Secretary-General Sanjiv Ranjan said. The conflict, including incidents in the Strait of Hormuz and attacks near the Chagos Islands, has underscored the vulnerability of critical sea lanes for energy, trade, and livelihoods across the 23-member bloc.

At the Indian Ocean Dialogue in New Delhi, co-hosted by IORA and India’s Ministry of External Affairs, Mauritian Foreign Minister Dhananjay Ramful condemned the U.S. sinking of the Iranian naval vessel IRIS Dena in March, calling it 'outrageous,' and expressed alarm over Iranian missile strikes toward the U.S. military base on Diego Garcia. He warned that the Indian Ocean's long-standing status as a 'zone of peace' has been shattered by the introduction of aggressive military postures.

While IORA does not deliberate on bilateral disputes, it will assess the socio-economic fallout of the conflict across eight priority areas, including trade, fisheries, disaster management, and the blue economy. Ranjan highlighted rising fuel prices, tourism declines, fertilizer shortages affecting agriculture, and disruptions to fishing as immediate regional challenges.

India will host the IORA Senior Officials Meeting in June, followed by a Council of Ministers meeting by the end of 2026, ahead of a planned leaders’ summit in 2027 marking IORA’s 30th anniversary. The upcoming meetings aim to strengthen cooperation, transparency, and regional coordination in maritime governance.